Nov
2016 15
2016 15
Give ’em Props: Building Trades Score Two Major Ballot Measure Victories on Election Night
Construction unions scored a pair of victories in California last week when constituents voted YES on Proposition 51, a $9 billion school bond measure dedicated to the construction and modernization of schools and community colleges across the state. They also voted NO on Proposition 53, which would have required a statewide vote for every…
Nov
2016 15
2016 15
Housing Developers Finally Agree to Prevailing Wages as Condition of Tax Breaks in NYC
Last Thursday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced a deal with developers and union construction officials that could bring back a program designed to create affordable housing for everyday New Yorkers. The program, called 421-a, expired in January. After a failed effort to revive it in August, Gov. Cuomo brought the parties back…
Nov
2016 11
2016 11
Rust Bet: AFL-CIO Part of $2B Investment in Job-Creating Construction Throughout Midwest
Unions are spearheading a program to rebuild homes and create jobs across the rustbelt. The $2.1 billion effort, largely funded by the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust’s [email protected] Investment Strategy, aims to renovate aging neighborhoods and combat disinvestment and unemployment: “The cycle of despair in the urban centers of…
Nov
2016 9
2016 9
A Vote for Precedent: Supervisor Charged with Homicide in NYC Construction Worker’s Death
Wilmer Cueva, the excavation supervisor overseeing the New York City construction site where a young worker was crushed to death last year, has been charged with criminally negligent homicide. The verdict was handed down Friday, with sentencing scheduled for December 16. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. said companies and…
Oct
2016 28
2016 28
A Boom for Whom? Building Trades Want Nashville’s Growth to Benefit Workers
Nashville is booming. Davidson County’s unemployment rate is the second lowest in the state at 3.8%. And the Nashville Business Journal recently found that the city’s wealthiest zip codes have grown wealthier over the past three years. Unfortunately, they also found the poorest have grown poorer during the same stretch….
Oct
2016 27
2016 27
Building Trades: “Irresponsible Developers” to Blame for NYC’s Non-Union Construction Deaths
The City of New York saw yet another construction worker die on the job last week. The Department of Buildings (DOB) issued a stop work order immediately after the accident, which occurred at a Brooklyn hotel site. New York City has experienced a slew of fatal construction accidents of late, prompting local building trades [&hellip…;
Oct
2016 25
2016 25
Building Trades-Backed Bill C-4 Nears Passage, Would Right the Wrongs of C-377
Canada’s Building Trades Unions (CBTU) celebrated the passage of Bill C-4 through the House of Commons last week. The bill aims to repeal anti-labor legislation, most notably Bill C-377, passed by the previous administration during a prior legislative session. C-377 aggressively targets labor unions with onerous bookkeeping and…
Oct
2016 20
2016 20
County Council Members Defend Delayed Responsible Bidder Ordinance in Indiana
In Indiana, a St. Joseph County Council committee has been grappling with a bill that would give an advantage to local firms bidding on public works projects. After approving the bill 4-2 along party lines, the committee sent the “Responsible Bidder Ordinance” to the full county council for a vote, only to have the [&hellip…;
Oct
2016 19
2016 19
CA One Step Closer to Project Labor Agreement on Monterey’s Interlake Tunnel Project
In August, the debate over funding for the $78.2 million Interlake Tunnel project in Monterey, California began to heat up. A $10 million state grant tied to a worker-supportive Project Labor Agreement (PLA) hung in the balance. But last week, the county water resources agency staff recommended the Board of Supervisors accept the funding:…
Oct
2016 14
2016 14
PLA Enables 20% Minority, 25% Female Hiring Goals on $300M Oregon Court House Job
Earlier this month in Multnomah County, Oregon, construction workers broke ground on a $300 million court house. The project is expected to be completed in 2020 and employ more than 500 building trades workers. Thanks to a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) negotiated by the Columbia-Pacific Building and Construction Trades Council (CPBCTC),…
Oct
2016 11
2016 11
San Jose Construction Workers Protest Use of Outside Labor: “It’s Pure and Simple Greed”
Construction workers took to the streets of San Jose late last month to voice their displeasure with Cupertino-based developer KT Urban. Their complaints do not begin and end with KT, however. Union members are frustrated with a growing shift in Silicon Valley toward hiring non-union workers on development projects: Workers say it’s part…
Oct
2016 11
2016 11
Building Trades Tout IL’s HIRE Education Program to Boost Minority, Female Involvement in Construction
The Illinois labor community is looking to improve diversity within its ranks through a program called HIRE Education. The Lincoln Land Community College program is a 20-week course that prepares women, people of color, and former convicts for union apprenticeships. Those demographics are traditionally underrepresented in organized labor,…